The consumer purchase rates for personal computers and mobile phones excluding smartphones declined by 39% and 56%, respectively, in 2010 compared with last year, according to a survey by Accenture.

The survey expects that the buying rates of 3DTVs (three-dimensional TVs) to increase by 500%; tablet computers by 160%; ebook readers by 133%; and smartphones by 26%.

The survey found that only 17% of respondents plan to buy a desktop or laptop computer in 2011, a drop of 39% from 2010.

The study revealed that 75% of US survey respondents emailed each week from their PCs in 2010, down from 80% the year before.

Further, respondents were using multiple devices such as tablet PCs for activities that used to be done on traditional PCs and used tablet PCs for browsing the Web, watching videos and reading books, newspapers and magazines.

The research also found that ownership of basic mobile phones dropped from 79% in 2009 to 65% in 2010 while during the same period, ownership of smartphones quadrupled from 8 to 32%.

In the survey, mobile phones were described as having basic voice capability but not the enhanced features available on smartphones, such as surfing the Internet.

The report said that as consumer electronics companies consider ways to increase demand for 3D TVs, price emerged as the biggest lever for driving greater interest in this new technology product.

According to the survey, 57% of respondents said they would be more inclined to buy a 3D TV if the price were within their budget.

The report also revealed that among respondents in all eight countries surveyed, Chinese consumers were among the most enthusiastic purchasers and users of the latest consumer technologies.

Further, 69% of the nation’s respondents want or plan to own a 3D TV, compared with only one-fourth of US consumers and one-fifth of Japanese consumers.

The report also said that more than half (53%) of Chinese respondents currently own a smartphone versus one-third of US respondents.

Furthermore, smartphones are predicted to be the most purchased device in China next year, with 38% of those surveyed planning to buy one.

The survey was focused on usage and spending on 19 different consumer electronics technologies among more than 8,000 consumers in eight countries from both emerging markets and developed economies.

The countries covered under the survey include: Brazil, China, India, Russia, France, Germany, Japan and the US.